Donkey came too on Pinkertons' gigs; BACKBEAT: BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE MUSIC LIKE THEY USED TO! 1966.

Byline: PETE CHAMBERS

POP groups in the 1960s usually had a gimmick and, as PETE CHAMBERS reports, Coventry band Pinkertons Assorted Colours, were no exception.

IN 1964 The Mighty Avengers had begun to put Rugby on the musical map. Two years later Pinkerton's Assorted Colours would come along and finish the job.

On the outskirts of Rugby in the early 60s was a place called Clifton Hall - and this was the base of one of pop's most flamboyant characters, Reg Calvert.

Reg was an impresario, running clubs all over the country. Clifton Hall became a 'pop-school', an academy of beat where new talent could be nurtured.

Along with the likes of Danny Storm, The Fortunes and Screaming Lord Sutch, Pinkertons Assorted Colours were soon to become part of Reg Calvert's unique empire.

Rugby band The Liberators, led by songwriter Tony Newman, had built up a following, not least for their single Hurts So Much.

They decided to approach Reg at Clifton Hall to ask him to be their manager. The deal was done and on December 10, 1965, The Liberators were re-invented as Pinkertons Assorted Colours with this line-up: Tony Newman (vocals and guitar), Tom Long (lead guitar), former Vampires bassman Barrie Bernhard and Johnny Wallbank (drums).

With the new name came the new image, brightly coloured suits were the order of the day, really putting the colour into Pinkertons.

Front man Sam 'Widge' Kempe was re-christened Samuel 'Pinkerton' Kempe and given an amplified auto-harp, this was to become the trademark of the band visually and musically. Although it was an unusual instrument for a beat band, the Lovin' Spoonful had also experimented with the auto- harp and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones was to use the instrument a little later.

"I think Reg thought our lead singer needed a prop," reveals guitarist and 'harp-tech' Tom Long. "He was also interested in throwing in any kind of gimmick to make the band stand out as different in any way possible. The sound was passable for live performances, but it was awful to record, it was impossible to get it accurately tuned, so they came up with using the jangle strip on an upright piano to get the sound played by the great Arthur Greenslade."

So that famous sound we hear on early Pinkertons records (especially Mirror, Mirror and Magic Rocking Horse) was actually a piano, not an auto- harp at all.

Mirror Mirror was their first single, released on Decca at the start of 1966 and produced by Coventry kid Tony Clarke.

The ever-resourceful Reg Calvert arranged a publicity stunt and the fountains in Trafalgar Square were turned multi-coloured with dye. The record was also constantly played on Radio City pirate radio station.

By January 15 Mirror Mirror was at number 9 in the UK charts. With its cheerful clanging sound and catchy chorus the song was a sure-fire winner and Pinkertons were on the way.

Tony Newman said: "Reg Calvert ran various venues across the region paying pounds 15 per gig. He ran places such as Rugby Town Hall, Nuneaton Co-op Hall, Kettering Central Hall, Matrix Ballroom, Coventry, Banbury Wintergardens, High Wycombe Town Hall, we played all these venues many times.

"Reg had many unusual ideas, one of which was to run a competition and raffles at his venues where the prizes would consist of a live animal or bird. First it was white mice, then hamsters, later chickens and hens, and various feathered birds.

"The Christmas season was approaching, so Reg hit on the idea of giving donkeys away at his famous raffles (I have no idea where he got them from).

"So not only did the band have to transport themselves and musical gear, but now a donkey also had to be accommodated in the band van to various venues around the country.

"We used to sit in the front, the donkey entered the van through the side leading door, so was in the middle and the gear at the back.

"You can imagine how surprised the petrol pump attendant was on the A45 en route to the Matrix Ballroom, Coventry.

"I believe we once had to deliver a donkey to a winner's address in Bedworth."

Just as the second single was about to be recorded, bass guitarist Barrie Bernhard left to join Jigsaw. He was replaced by Stuart Colman who had been in Rugby bands The Beat-Preachers and The Cataracts.

Don't Stop Loving Me Baby, the follow-up, managed No 50 in the charts. The next single, Magic Rocking Horse, was a great piece of psychedelic freak beat. It should have been huge, but just as it was released their

mentor Reg Calvert was to lose his life in a bizarre shooting incident.

Who knows if the lack of promotion and the lack of a manager contributed to low sales. Whatever the reason, it failed to chart and the guys were to soon have a new manager (Terry King) and a new label (Pye).

In came a new producer, Tony Macaulay, and a new guitarist, Steve Jones, who had been with Coventry units The Peeps and The Sabres.

After a few unsuccessful singles, including Mum and Dad, There's Nobody I'd Sooner Love and Kentucky Woman, things were looking decidedly dim, especially after producer Macaulay was now away having songwriting hits with the likes of The Foundations and Long John Baldry.

Drummer Dave Holland departed to join heavy band Trapeze. He was replaced by another ex-Peeps member Paul Wilkinson. Things then started to look up and the band were invited to contribute the music to the Scottish TV show Bernadette.

Macaulay pulled out all the stops and wrote the song Smile a Little Smile for Me. They were all convinced it would bring them the UK hit they so wanted.

It was decided that a new name for the band was in order so Pinkertons Colours became the Flying Machine. All was ready for the chart onslaught, but nothing was happening (although The Marmalade were charting with a song Macaulay had previously written and recorded for them, Baby Make it Soon).

At this point Sam Kempe left to become Jigsaw's road manager. Then they discovered that Smile a Little Smile for Me had charted in Holland.

Meanwhile a new single was released in the UK, Send My Baby Home Again. All their eyes were on this single to do the business - unbeknown to them, Smile a Little Smile for Me was slowly creeping up the American charts.

In 1969 their world turned around and everyone Stateside wanted a piece of the Flying Machine. They went back into the studios, in no time recording an album Down to Earth and the single finally peaked at No 5 in the US charts.

Just as that happened, Macaulay announced he was leaving Pye records for Bell Records. He asked the Flying Machine to join him (he said he had a song especially for them).

It was decided that as they had six months left on their contract they would stay with Pye. Macaulay was not best pleased and his support for the band was well and truly rescinded.

This became evident when their second US release, Baby Make It Soon, was met with the release of two other versions from Macaulay, effectively diluting the song's success.

To make matters worse, that song he had written for them turned out to be Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes. It, of course, became a global hit - not for them but for session band Edison Lighthouse.

Despite this slap in the face they continued to tour, releasing their most progressive song to date, The Devil has Possession of your Mind.

After this failed to take off, they decided to call it a day, playing their last gig at the Forty Thieves in Coventry in June 1971.

Tony continued to use the name Pinkertons Colours and they enjoyed some success on the country music scene in the 80s, even playing at the Wembley Country Music Festival. Nowadays they still play from time to time with Tony Newman (vocals and guitar), Pete Robbins (drums), Phil Clough (lead guitar) and Mike Summerson (bass).

PINKERTONS ASSORTED COLOURS TRIVIA

STEWART COLMAN went on to be a successful DJ at Radio One. He later moved into production (his credits have included Cliff Richards, Billy Fury, Shakin' Stevens and Kim Wilde). He is now a producer in Nashville.

THEY wrote a song called Dukes Jetty named after the small throughway between Sheep Street and High Street in Rugby town centre. It featured on the B-side of their 1968 single There's Nobody I Would Sooner Love.

THE song The Devil Has Possession of Your Mind was co-written by Coventry's own Johnny Goodison of Johnny B Great and Brotherhood of Man fame.

PINKERTONS COLOURS are due to play a charity gig at Benn Hall, Rugby, on Friday, June 10.

CAPTION(S):

STANDING OUT: Pinkertons Assorted Colours, complete with auto- harp, on ITV's pop programme Ready Steady Go and (right) a later publicity shot; INSPIRATION FOR A SONG: Tony Newman at Dukes Jetty in Rugby last year

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Title Annotation:	Features
Publication:	Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)
Date:	May 24, 2005
Words:	1514
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